ich & responsible tourism in west bengal and...
TRANSCRIPT
West Bengal has many Cultural traditions, but Patachitra may be one of the most interesting ones. Just about 3 hours away, the village Naya in Pingla, Paschim Medinipur is home of about 250 Patachitra artists (also called, Patuas), where one can experience the art of natural colour making and interact with the artists to learn about Scroll painting, storytelling through singing and also look at the diversified products.
After Pingla, a visit to Sabang is desirable, which is a Madur (reed mats) artists' village, located an hour away. One can plan a day visit from Kolkata or spend a night stay at Folk Art Centre / well equipped Guest Houses at Pingla/ Sabang.
Pingla to Bishnupur in Bankura is a 3.5 hours drive. Bishnupur is famous for its Terracotta temples. An hour's drive from Bishnupur is the Dokra metal craft artists' village of Bikna. A 1.5 hour drive from Bikna will take you to Tepantar, a theatre village with a 4-acre eco-campus in Panagarh, Bardhaman. Spend the night at Tepantar. Tepantar has all types of accommodations including cottages with private WC and simple dormitory.
Exploring the neighbourhood of the Tepantar theatre village is an experience by itself. You can go on a 30-minute drive to Joydev Kenduli, where one can interact with the Baul artists. Baul music can be termed as soul of Bengal and is all about self searching, 500 years old traditional music celebrating brotherhood and peace. Move on from Kenduli to Santiniketan, the abode of Rabindranath Tagore and the cultural cradle of modern Bengal. After Tepantar, you can take a 3-hour drive to Purulia, the land of Chau dance and visit the villages of Chau dancers and Chau mask makers and make a tour of the local 8th century temples with their intricate architecture. From Purulia, drive off to the Gandhi Ashram at Nimdih, located at the foothills of Dalma range of hills, where you will be hosted for the night. Stay at Nimdih has accommodations for 150 persons, including cottages with private WC and simple dormitory.
This is good for a 5-7 days tour and we are happy to customize the package for guests, depending on their duration of stay and interest areas.
Fabulous Folks: South Bengal
Back to the roots
Dear Delta: Sunderbans
Dancing Hills : Darjeeling
Sunderbans, the largest delta in the world, is only 2.5 hours drive from Kolkata, then you take a boat from Gadkhali to reach Pakhiralay. Sunderbans is the largest mangrove delta, so enjoy the forest here, visit the villages, interact with the local creative communities and have a glance of their culture. We keep our guests at Hotels in Pakhiralay. We recommend a 2 nights stay in the Sunderbans.
There are 16 local communities in Darjeeling Kalimpong region and there are about 850 practicing artists with fantastic traditional song and dance. Our tour to Darjeeling and Kalimpong is all about visiting the villages where one gets an opportunity of knowing various communities, interacting with them and experience the local culture of the cloud-kissed hills of Bengal. Stay at hotels/ home stay in Darjeeling/ Kalimpong. We recommend a 2-4 nights stay in Darjeeling-Kalimpong region.
NatureCultureJourney
Gorgeous Goa
Celebrating Peace with Music : Sur Jahan & Baul Fakiri Music Festival
We work with communities and also with social enterprises working on Responsible Tourism. One can stay at simple beachside place or at high end hotels. We recommend you to visit Museum of Goa in Saligao and take cruise through mangroves on Chapora river in Morjim. Home stay at Divar island or exploring forest in the hills of Goa is also worth a try. Music lovers can certainly visit live music spaces in Anjuna or Benaulim. Visiting art-culture villages like Avedem or Gullem in South Goa or Ibrampur in North Goa can also be interesting to explore other side of Goa. A drive to Old Goa to relish the architectural charms of the Old Goa church is a must. If you have few more days in hand, we can help you in planning further, including a trip to Maxem, the southern-most village in Goa and/or, you may like to stay at a budget/ luxurious beach side hotel on Agonda/ Sernabatim beach.
This is good for a 7-10 days tour and we are happy to customize the package for guests, depending on their duration of stay and interest areas.
If you are a music lover, you may like to visit Baul Fakiri festival at Tepantar or Sur Jahan in Kolkata and Goa. Baul Fakiri festival will give you the opportunity to be with Baul musicians and understand their philosophy of brotherhood and peace, 10th edition to be held on Nov 22-24, 2019. Sur Jahan, the World Peace Music Festival celebrating Cultural Diversity and Pluralism will take you through a journey of togetherness while enjoying the best of World Music and interacting with the world's top musicians throughout the journey. 10th edition of Sur Jahan will be held on Jan 31-Feb 2 in Kolkata and Feb 5-7, 2020 in Goa. There are tours linked with festivals and thus are with fixed departure dates. Music Tours are for 10-15 days and we are happy to customize the package for guests, depending on their duration of stay and interest areas.
58/114 Prince Anwar Shah Road, Kolkata - 700 045 Phone : +91-33-40047483 Ext. 30, Mobile : +91-8420106396e-mail : [email protected] website : www.toureast.in, www.banglanatak.com
CulturalTourism
Baul Fakiri UtsavTepantar, Bardhaman
Nov 22 - 24, 2019Kolkata 31 - 2 Feb, Goa 5 - 7 Feb Jan
2020